The government on Friday extended the Rs 200 per LPG cylinder subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) by one year in the wake of high prices of petroleum products in the international market.
The move will benefit 9.6 crore families.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year to be provided to the beneficiaries of PMUY, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.
As of March 1, 2023, there were 9.59 crore PMUY beneficiaries.
Further, the minister said the total expenditure will be Rs 6,100 crore for the financial year 2022-23 and Rs 7,680 crore for 2023-24.
The subsidy is credited directly to the bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries.
Thakur said there has been a sharp increase in international prices of LPG due to various geopolitical reasons and it is important to shield PMUY beneficiaries from high LPG prices.
An official release said that targeted support to PMUY consumers encourages them to continuously LPG.
"It is important to ensure sustained LPG adoption and usage among PMUY consumers so that they can completely switch to cleaner cooking fuel," it said.
The average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 20 per cent from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.68 in 2021-22.
All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for the targeted subsidy.
To make liquified petroleum gas (LPG), a clean cooking fuel, available to rural and deprived poor households, the government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016, to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.